


It Fandom Week 2019

by stalllme



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Accidental Confession, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Good Omens AU, M/M, Puppy Love, Reddie, Soulmate AU, coffee shop AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-21
Updated: 2019-07-28
Packaged: 2020-07-10 08:09:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19902535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stalllme/pseuds/stalllme
Summary: My contributions to It Fandom Week 2019!!





	1. Are You Hearing Me?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Richie lives in a world where the voice in your head isn’t your own. It belongs to you soulmate, and you don’t know who they are until you hear them talk for the first time. 
> 
> Day 1 and 2 - Soulmate/Coffee Shop AU

For as long as Richie Tozier could remember, the voice in his head wasn't his own. And for as long as he could remember, it confused him.

Richie was a man of voices. He loved talking, perfecting accents and doing impressions, and he even considered himself to be quite good at recognizing voices. 

Except for the one in his head.

He was familiar with it only because it was the one constantly voicing his thoughts, but he didn't know who it belonged to. as a kid, he was always curious to why his consciousness sounded like someone he didn't recognize. Someone he had never met before.

At age six, he realized that his friends had this problem, too. They went on and on about their confusions of who this voice was, and why exactly it was in their brains, before ultimately realizing that they all had different voices in their heads. That day, he and his friends had given their phenomenon a name. The Voice (hey, they were first-graders, give them some credit). Richie had asked his mother about it the following afternoon. 

"You mean your soulmate, Richie dear?"

Richie was taken aback. He had never heard that word before. "My soulmate?"

"Yes, love. The voice in your head is the voice of your soulmate. The one you were born to be with for your whole life." his mother had said gently to him. "Think of the voice as someone you will grow up to fall in love with and get married to."

"So you hear daddy's voice in your head?"

She laughed at that, tucking a dark curl behind his ear. "Exactly." 

Richie fell in love with The Voice all too quickly. It was breathy, but projected from the back this person's throat. It held fire and personality, yet it seemed kind and trustworthy.

Not all of Richie's thoughts were in his soulmate's  
voice, although a majority of them were. If he were to recall memories with people in it they would have their original voices, but most of the time, when Richie pondered to himself it was in The Voice. It almost acted as someone for Richie to talk to. He talked to his own consciousness sometimes. 

Richie was aware how weird that seemed but usually, he assumed it was like this for everyone. Richie spent a lot of his time looking and listening to try and find the face that matched the voice. 

And as Richie grew older, his limbs growing longer and his clothes growing smaller, the voice aged as well, almost as if to keep up with its host. At this point, Richie was almost certain that his soulmate was a boy. He could only dream about the day he would meet his soulmate. Would it be romantic? Would Richie use a good pickup line? Would they kiss?

Beverly and Stanley, his childhood best friends always called him a dork whenever he brought up his worries in their deep late-night talks about soulmates. He remembered a specific conversation the three of them had during their last week of senior year, spread out across Stan's bedroom carpet. It started with a pillow hitting him in the face.

"Rich. We asked what you were thinking about," Bev, who had thrown one of Stan's pillows at him said from her spot in the carpet. "You were being scarily quiet."

"He's probably thinking about his soulmate again." Stan quipped. "M'Surprised you haven't come to terms with the fact that the whole soulmate thing is bullshit."

Richie's head snapped over to where his friends were laying. "It's not bullshit," he said defensively. "Mines real, asshole. Super real." 

Bev cooed at him. "You know he's just teasing, Rich. It's kinda cute when you ramble about your mystery-man all the time."

"Sure, it's cute, but what if it is really...just a voice, you know? What if it's ust a figment of our imagination and our parents and teachers feed these lies to us, and eventually we get so desperate to find who it belongs to, that we latch on to anyone who has even a similar sounding voice. What if none of it is real?"

They're silent for a moment as they take in Stan's rambling. Bev is the first to speak. "But you've heard the stories, haven't you? The ones people have told where they meet the person who matches their Voice, and it's like everything slips into place. I mean, how can you make that up?"

"You'd probably be surprised," Stan deadpanned, before Beverly whacked him with another pillow.

"It has to be real," Richie said almost desperately while Bev began to play-wrestle Stan. "There's no way we just coincidentally each hear different voices in our heads. We were _meant_ to be with these people. You'll know when you meet yours, Stan."

Stan seemed to take what Richie had said into consideration, despite the fact that Bev still had him held in a headlock. " _If_ I meet my soulmate."

" _When_ you meet your soulmate."

-

 _Is getting a latte reasonable?_ Richie thought to himself, admiring the varying tones that The Voice used in one simple sentence. _What about a macchiato?_

Richie stared up at the menu in the nearly somewhat busy shop, not knowing what to order despite the fact he went there so often, now even more so due to the fact that Stan had recently gotten a job as a barista in a small coffee shop not too far off the campus of NYU where him, Richie and Bev attended.

“Hi, what can I get you?”

At the sound of his friend, Richie tore his eyes away from the menu and looked at the cash register, to find Stan taking the order of the guy in front of him in line. A very cute guy, Richie took note of, subtlety taking in as much as he could while standing behind him. Short, with shorter shorts, tanned skin and brown hair that curled at the ends. Before Richie knew it, Stan was handing the cute customer’s cup to another barista and he stepped out of the line to go wait for his order.

Richie tried not to feel disappointed, until he realized it was his turn to order, making sure no one was behind him in line before sauntering up to the register and flashing Stan a grin. “Look at you, Stan the man! Living the working man’s lifestyle.” he glanced at the pretty guy who was now leaning against the wall on his phone, still waiting for his drink. “Waiting cute customers and everything,” he added quietly.

“Hi, Rich,” Stan said with a roll of his eyes, knowingly picking up a medium sized cup and writing Richie’s name on it. “He was your type, wasn’t he? Why don’t you go talk to him?”

Richie was taken aback. “Talk to him? Why, Stanny, you know I’m preserving myself for my sou-”

“Preserving yourself? For what, marriage?” Stan interrupted with a snort. He immediately softened at Richie’s unamused look. “Listen, you’re gonna meet your soulmate eventually, and he’s not gonna kill you if you went on a few dates before the two of you met! Come on.”

“You’re only saying that so easily because you, mister ‘soulmates-are-bullshit’ actually found your soulmate. How’s Mikey, by the way?”

Stan glared at him. “Charming and perfect as always. Stop changing the subject.”

“I’m not!” Richie said defensively. “I just thought the conversation was over. Also, I’ll have a latte, please. You know how I like it.”

With one final piercing glare, Stan exhaled sharply through his nose. “Fine, you win, but we’re talking about this later, now go wait over by the cute guy while I make your stupid coffee.”

Richie blew him a kiss before making his way over to where the cute guy was still standing on his phone. _Maybe you should do it,_ Richie thought to himself, and it made him feel a little guilty to hear it in his soulmate’s voice. _Maybe you should talk to him._

He shook his head at the thought, trying to shove down the blush creeping up his throat. _It’s just one cute guy, Richie. Get over yourself!_

Richie then realized he must have wrapped in his head for quite sometime, as the next time he looked up, his coffee was finished and Stan was placing a lid over the cup and reaching over to place it on the counter.

Stan called out “Richie,” absentmindedly, but at the same time another barista was placing an almost identical drink on the counter as well, but instead saying “Eddie,” before the two walked off behind the counter to continue doing their jobs.

Richie reached for his coffee almost at the exact same time as this cute boy, Eddie , did and the two found themselves making the brief eye contact.

He looked in the grey of Eddie’s eyes and felt as if he could immediately get lost in them, before he hurriedly looked away so as not to seem creepy. 

With red cheeks, Richie then gripped his coffee and made the most stupid, yet best decision he had ever made in his life.

With his eyes still downcast to the wood floors, Richie made a move to walk over to the straws and napkins, but due to not looking where he was going, he did not watch which direction the cute boy in front of him was walking in, and ended up bumping into Eddie’s shoulder roughly, instinctively dropping his latte and watching it spill all over the ground and both their shoes. 

“Shit! I’m so sorr-”

“Oh my God I’m so-”

They froze.

The two simply looked at each other again, opening and closing their mouths as they sputtered to get something, anything out of their mouths.

“It...It’s you!” Is what Eddie ended up saying first, his eyes wide and unbelieving, and Richie swore he felt his knees buckle. “Sorry, was that weird to say? ‘Cause like, it’s you! You’re...Oh my God, I’ve been hearing your voice my whole life and it’s so weird that I actually just heard it out loud and not in my head-”

Richie finally got it. 

Because looking down at Eddie, this man he knew basically nothing about, ramble with pink cheeks and frantic words, it felt as if a blanket of content fell over him. This was the person he’s thought and wondered about since he was six years old. This was the person he was born to love.

“I-I should shut up now,” He laughed awkwardly. “I’m Eddie. I mean, you probably know that since they just called my name not a minute ago-”

“I’ve dreamt about you,” Richie blurted, and _God, where did that come from? Quick, fix it!_ “I mean...I fell in love with your voice.” _That wasn’t any better!_  
“Oh...Was _that_ weird? Shit, I-”

Eddie held up his hands. “It’s not weird! I-I fell in love with your voice too.”

Richie exhaled. He would have been surprised if his pupils weren’t literal hearts in that moment. “I’m fucked.”

“Jesus Christ, you two!” A loud voice interrupted their moments, the two of them looking up to see everyone in the shop looking at them, including Stan who had an arm extended towards the door. “I’ll take care of the goddamned spill but just go out and do something romantic before you make the entire store barf.”

Richie and Eddie looked at Stan, then to the spill on the ground, before the two promptly burst into laughter, forgetting exactly where they were for a moment.

“Thanks, Stan!” Richie called as he watched with so much love in his chest as Eddie grabbed his hands and took his bottom lip between his teeth before leading them hand-in-hand out of the coffee shop, Eddie’s own latte forgotten on the counter top. 

For as long as Richie Tozier could remember, the the voice in his head wasn’t his own. It was Eddie’s Kaspbrak’s, and now he could safely say, he was more than fine with that.


	2. Eternity With You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically a self-indulgent Good Omens/Reddie AU. Sue me.
> 
> A look into the lives of Angel Eddie and Demon Richie, their meeting in The Garden Of Eden, their disagreement in the Sixties, and their love in the present.
> 
> A late day 5 for It Fandom Week! Fandom Crossover

**The Garden Of Eden**

It began in a garden. In this case, The Garden Of Eden.

The demon Richie who back then went by the name 'Crawley,' had been given a simple instruction by his superiors. And that was to 'Get up there and make some trouble'. So he did.

He would never admit it, but the demon felt quite guilty emerging from the grass and slithering up to the first woman and whispering sweet temptations in her ear, but as a demon, It was just what he was meant to do.

Adam and Eve seemed to oblige easily, and the demon watched as Eve had gently picked the forbidden fruit off of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and took it between her teeth before passing it to Adam. The two shared a moment of silence before something new had flashed in their eyes, and they took each other by the hand and ran behind some shrubbery.

Needless to say, God was not happy. At least, Richie had assumed so, because before he knew it, God had banished the two humans from the Garden of Eden.

The demon found himself in his human form on top of the Eastern Gate next to an angel who he assumed was meant to be guarding it. Storm clouds rolled overhead. The first thunderstorm was due.

He couldn't help but glance over at the angel, who seemed to pay him no mind. The angel simply stood still and straight, his eyes trained on the distance where Adam and Eve stood, dressed and fearful.

A smile quirked at the demon's lips. "Well, that one went down like a lead balloon."

The angel turned to him. "What?"

"I _said,_ that one went down like a lead balloon."

"Oh, right, yes of course," the angel nodded thoughtfully, though the confusion on his face was clear. 

Richie was feeling quite bold. "I think it was quite an overreaction, honestly." The angel looked at him with offense. "I mean, I don't see what's so bad about knowing the difference between good and evil, anyways."

"It must _be_ bad..." he replied, trailing off, before the demon realized he was silently asking for his name.

"Crawley," he answered. "Though I'm thinking of changing it."

The angel arched an eyebrow at him. "Changing it? Your name? To what?"

He thought about it for a moment. "Not sure, really. What do you think about _Richard?_ Actually, don't answer that. You are?"

The angel gave him a sharp glance before looking back at Adam and Eve, adjusting his posture. "I am the angel Edward," he said with pride, "the guard of the Eastern Gate.” Thunder boomed above them.

"Like I was saying, you were involved. So it has to be bad." Edward said a bit bitterly. "It's your basic...Nature, no offense."

Richie had simply shurghed. "I mean, you have to admit, it's a bit of a pantomime, isn't it? Placing a damn tree in the middle of it all with a 'Don't Touch' sign on it. Not subtle at all. Why not put it on high mountain? Or the bloody moon?"

Edward didn't answer at first. "I think it's best not to speculate. You can't second-guess ineffability. There's right, and there's wrong-"

Richie, who has stopped paying attention and began to look the angel up and down, interrupted him. "Didn't you have a flaming sword?"

Edward quickly turned to look at the demon, eyes narrowed. "What?"

"You did, didn't you? I remember, it was flaming like anything. Well, go on. Have you lost it already?"

"I didn't _lose_ it," the angel said, sticking his nose a little higher in the air. "If you must know, I gave it away."

"You _what-_ "

"I gave it away," Edward repeated, but this time with more force, startling Richie a bit. "I had to. It was starting to get cold, and she's expecting already! With the vicious animals outside, I thought, 'oh what's the harm'...."

Richie stared as the angel began to ramble, the word _cute_ passing his mind a few times. 

Eventually Edward let out a loud sigh. "Lord, I really hope I didn't do the wrong thing," he said, which the demon snorted at.

"You're an angel. I don't really think it's possible for you to do the wrong thing."

He gave the demon a tight lipped smile. "Thank you, I suppose."

"The funny thing is," Richie said after a moment, "I keep wondering if the apple was the right or wrong thing to do, as well. A demon could get in trouble for that, you know. Doing the right thing." With a smile, he then nudged the angel who looked at him, unamused. "'Be funny if we both got it wrong, wouldn't it? I did the good thing you did the bad?"

Edward shook his head. "That wouldn't be funny at all."

Rain began to pour over Eden.

The angel raised one of his wings over Richie as they both looked up to the now dark sky, and the demon, quite flattered at the gesture, found himself scooting under it. 

They watched as Adam and Eve trailed farther and farther away from The Garden, and Richie had known, this angel was different. Very different. Sure he didn't know many angels to begin with, but upon meeting Edward he had felt like something clicked into place, as if that wouldn't be their last time they were to see each other.

It all seemed ineffable, really. 

**1967**

History went on, the times going by quite quickly. 

Richie and Eddie found themselves bound to encounter one another every hundred years or so, sometimes less. Some of their interactions throughout history were more meaningful than others, but somewhere between those thousands of years, the celestials has made some sort of unspoken agreement. An agreement to stay out of each other’s way on Earth, and to lend a hand when needed. After all, they were beginning to grow quite fond of one another.

It was simple. Neither Heaven nor Hell needed to know, and it was beneficial for the both of them. Except, of course, when it wasn’t. 

Richie let out a huff as he crossed the busy soho streets to get to his parked Bentley, thinking about a certain conversation he and the angel had around one hundred years ago, in St. James Park. Eddie had refused to provide Richie with holy water, telling the demon it was ‘too dangerous’ and it would ‘destroy him.’ Richie hated how much of an angel he was.

_I need that holy water,_ he thought to himself as he pulled the door to the driver’s seat open. _I know what they’re saying about me, all the others. They’re suspicious of me._ Images of the angel flashed through his mind, and Richie shook his head, trying to will them out. _They think I’ve gone native. I need it for protection._

As he ducked into his car, a voice in his passenger seat startled him. “Richie. We need to talk.”

“Jesus fuck!” Richie yelled turning to face the angel who had appeared out of quite literally nowhere. “You trying to give me a bloody heart attack, angel?” He slammed Bentley’s door shut.

Eddie flashed the demon one of his signature offended glares. “We don’t have organs, Richie. We can’t get heart attacks.”

Richie ignored him. “What are you doing here? What is it?”

The angel paused. “I work in Soho. I hear things. And I hear that you’re setting up a... caper to rob a church.” Eddie looked up to him, but Richie couldn’t meet his eyes. “It’s too dangerous, Richie. Holy water will not only kill you, it’ll destroy you completely-”

“You told me how you felt one hundred and five years ago.”

“And I haven’t changed my mind!” Eddie looked distraught, but then said in a much softer tone, “But I can’t have you risking your life. Not even for something dangerous.”

The demon didn’t reply to that, still refusing to look at him until he realized that Eddie was pulling something from under his seat. “So, here.” Richie’s eyes snapped over to see tall white thermos, the angel grasping it as if it were glass about to shatter. “You can call off the robbery.”

He looked from the angel, to the thermos, and back to the angel, before taking the holy water with an equal amount of gentleness. “Is this the real thing?”

“The holiest.”

Richie traced his finger around the cap, as Eddie kept his eyes forward, though his eyes were shifty. He was nervous. “After everything you said?” Eddie just nodded.

The demon set the thermos into his lap, almost speechless. “Well... should I thank you?” Eddie looked at him then and paused as if he was considering what to say, taking his bottom lip between his teeth. 

“Better not,” is what the angel settled with.

“Well, can I drop you anywhere?”

Eddie smiled tightly, but shook his head. “No, thank you,” he said, exhaling sharply when Richie gave a small pout in response. “Now don’t go looking so disappointed. Perhaps... one day we could... I don’t know, have a picnic. Or dine at the Ritz.”

Richie was confused. “I’ll give you a lift, Eddie. Anywhere you want to go. Anywhere at all.” The angel scoffed, looking Richie at with a new type of look. He looked almost... sad. Richie felt a pang of guilt. _Did I cause that?_

Then, Eddie had opened his mouth, and spoke barely above a whisper. “You go too fast for me, Richie.”

He exited the car. 

**PRESENT DAY**

A sigh fell through the demon's lips as he drummed his fingertips on the steering wheel of his Bentley, a _Queen's Greatest Hits Album_ on mainly for background noise. 

He had a date. 

Needless to say, Richie and Eddie had been through a lot during the past 6000 years, good and bad, but when they heard the Armageddon was upon them, all they could do was put their feelings (whatever the hell they were) aside and do their best to try and save the Earth they began to grow so fond of.

Eddie was the one who had confessed, three days after the Not-Armageddon. He had called Richie over to his bookshop apartment, saying there was something important to tell him.

"Richie," The angel had said, shy and timid. "With Armageddon... averted, I began to realize how much you mean to me, and how much we've depended on each other throughout history. And it's just that...We've been through quite a lot, the two of us, and I know we’ve been dancing around these _feelings_ for eras, and don't really know when I exactly I realized, but... Richie, I... I do believe I love you.”

Richie had short circuited. That was four weeks ago.

As he approached the all-too-familiar bookshop, the demon found a smile gracing his lips. He politely parked his car across the street before picking up the paper bag in his passengers seat and getting out of his Bentley. He would never admit it, but excitement thrummed in his veins.

Richie could sense him. He could feel the waves of relaxation contentment coming from the bookshop, and his tried his best to quietly sneak through the front door without alerting his angel.

He thought he had succeeded when he spotted Eddie sat at a small round table with his back to door, seemingly bent over a book, with a classical record playing throughout the store, so he chose simply stand in the doorway and admire him for a second.

Eddie proved his thoughts wrong after a minute or two. “I can feel you staring, Richie. It’s quite creepy.”

Richie smiled. “You bastard,” he said with no bite. 

The angel turned a stood, a shit-eating smile on his face as he approached Richie, his arms outstretched. “Hi, my dear,” he said sweetly, wrapping his arms around the demon’s shoulders, while Richie instinctively wrapped his arms around Eddie’s waist. “I wasn’t expecting you for a few more hours.” He kissed him on the cheek.

“Hey, angel,” Richie replied easily, pressing a kiss to Eddie’s hair before raising the paper bag that he held in one of the hands that were around Eddie. “Well, I’m here now, and I brought crêpes.” 

Eddie let out a little happy laugh, putting a hand on the demon’s chest and looking up at him. “You’re the best. I’ll set the table, my love-"

Just as Eddie was about to pull away from their embrace so they could start their dinner, Richie’s grip on Eddie’s weight tightened, and he pulled him back so their chests were flush together. He raised a hand and quickly snapped, and when Eddie turned around again the table was set and ready, accented with lit candles and rose petals.

The angel looked back up at him. “I could have set it, you know,” he reached up and took the sunglasses off of Richie’s nose and instead hooking them on the collar of his t-shirt so they could really look into each other’s eyes. “You don’t need to keep using miracles.”

“Yeah, well,” Richie shrugged, planting kisses all over Eddie’s now laughing face. “If you were setting the table I wouldn’t be kissing you right now.”

Eddie hummed in response, thinking for a moments before he flicked his own wrist and the paper bag was flying over to the table and the crêpes were on their respective plates. “I guess you’re right,” he then said with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

“I love you,” Richie said, and Eddie rolled his eyes, placing both of his free hands on Richie’s cheeks and bringing their faces together in a long, slow kiss. 

“I love you, too,” he breathed when they pulled away. “Can we eat? I’m starving.” 

Richie took one of Eddie’s hands and led them to the table. “Anything for you, angel. But the bedroom, afterwards?” Richie pulled out Eddie’s chair and he gasped, a blush on his cheeks as he whacked Richie’s shoulder. “You fiend, Richard!”

They took their time with dinner. After all, they did have the rest of eternity to spend together.


	3. Weightless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie accidentally loses his cool during a game of truth or dare.
> 
> Day 6- Puppy love/first kiss/accidental confession!

"Okay, Rich. Truth or dare?"

15-year-old Richie Tozier chewed on his thumb as he looked at Beverly, who was sat across from him in their Loser's Club circle. 

It was their annual Loser's Club Sleepover That was always held in the Denbrough's household. This year's sleepover had been going pretty smoothly, the group had started with cooking some popcorn and watching a few movies, but it began to go downhill when Bill suggested a game of truth or dare, which, in 15-year-old Eddie's Kaspbrak's opinion, is the worst game to ever exist. 

"Dare!" Richie said with confidence, causing Stan, who was sat next to him, to roll his eyes. 

Beverly flashed him a maniacal look. "I dare you to burn a bag of popcorn in the microwave and eat _all_ of it." 

Eddie, sat on the opposite side of Richie, so close their arms brushed every now and then, made a gagging noise. "Richie, please don't-"

"Oh you're _so_ on, Marsh!" And without another word, Richie was bolting across the basement and up the stairs into the kitchen.

Bill groaned. "N-Now my microwave is gonna sm-smell like burnt popcorn forever!"

“I’ll go make sure he doesn’t kill himself or burn your house down,” Mike said automatically as he stood up from his spot next to Ben, everyone saying their thanks as he trudged up the basement stairs to the giggling Richie.

Bev shrugged, but turned excitedly to the rest of the circle. “Let’s keep going! Eddie, truth or dare.” He glared at her.

“I told you guys I didn’t wanna play.”

“We’re not _actually_ playing right now,” she replied, throwing her legs into Ben’s lap who immediately blushed. “We’re just waiting for Richie to finish his dare. It’s like... an in-between round.”

Eddie scoffed. “It’s still truth or dare. I don’t want to play.”

“What, you huh-hiding something, Eddie?” Bill asked playfully, which Stan snorted at.

“Shut up! I have nothing to hide.”

“Then play a game. Just one truth or dare,” Bev said almost as if she was pleading.

Eddie didn’t answer at first, simply looking down at his lap, catching a glimpse of the pink and green friendship bracelet on his wrist. The one identical to the one Richie had on his wrist as well. “Fine. One question. I pick truth.”

Stan’s eyes lit up. “I call asking!” He said with a big grin before leaning forward and resting his chin on the palm of his hand. Eddie stiffened. _Please don’t ask, please don’t ask-_ “Do you like Justin?”

Eddie exhaled. “Justin?” He asked as he scrunched his nose, because that was certainly not what he expected his friend to ask. _Justin? How could I like Justin? How could I possibly like anyone other than-_ “are you insane? I don’t like Justin at all.”

“Wait, who’s Justin?” Ben asked, eyeing all of them confusedly.

“Justin Mullen,” Bev clarified, the same mischievous shimmer in her eyes. “He’s in our English class, and he stares at Eddie _all_ the time. Obviously Eddie likes him, too.”

He gasped. “I don’t! Quite bold of you to assume-”

“H-He’s so defensive!” Bill interrupted. “You’re such a b-b-bad liar, Eddie.”

“Bill! I’m _not_ lying! Sure, he’s a little attractive, but I don’t like him like that. I swear.”

Stan laughed, looking extremely amused at this whole situation. “You just admitted you think he’s attractive! Stop denying it-”

Eddie sat back, as his friends all began to talk at once and over one another, spewing false accusations, stunned almost to silence as he felt rage building in his stomach, because they were _wrong._ They were wrong and they didn’t know it.

“I _don’t_ like Justin!” Eddie tried to convince them one last time, desperately, but they all continued to deny it. He snapped.

“I don’t like Justin! I don’t like Justin, because I fucking like Richie, okay?!”

His friends went silent. 

Eddie exhaled roughly. He looked down to his lap, his throat raw, almost as if a massive weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. _I said it. I really said it._ The heat was still bubbling in his stomach. He couldn’t stop there.

“I’ve liked Richie for so long,” he said quickly. “I’m honestly quite surprised because I thought I was so obvious! I thought it was so obvious how much I like his stupid eyes, and his stupid hair, and his stupid soft, calloused hands-”

“Eddie!” Bev’s firm voice cut through his rambling, and Eddie snapped his head so he was finally looking up. All of his friends we’re staring at him as if they’d seen a ghost. Bev looked apologetic. 

He opened his mouth to ask what was going on, but that was when his eyes snapped to the bottom of the stairs.

Richie stood there, burnt popcorn falling out of his mouth, the bag open and at his feet. Mike stood not too far behind him, his hand over his mouth. 

Richie spoke through all the popcorn. “You _what?!_ ”

Eddie’s heart sank to his toes. “I- I wasn’t, you weren’t supposed to-,” Richie continued to just gape at him, and Eddie didn’t know what to do, the bracelet on his wrist heavy around his wrist and the walls seeming to close around him, so he did what he does best. 

He ran.

He stood up and pushed past Richie, sprinting up the stairs and slipping on his sneakers at almost lightning speed, running out of the front door and onto the sidewalk. He could run to his house from here, he only lived two streets over.

“Eddie! Holy fuck you’re so fast, E-Eddie!” 

Eddie deflated at the sound of the all-too-familiar voice. There was no avoiding it now. Reluctantly he spun around, only to see Richie running across Bill’s lawn barefoot. “Please- just stop, let me say something!”

“What, Richie?” Eddie said, breathless as Richie ran up to him, the two now face-to-face. “You want to make fun of me? Is that what it is?”

Richie looked offended. “What? Of course not! I’m just a little in shock, Eds! I mean, can you blame me? The love of my life admits he likes me, you have to give me some time to process!”

Eddie blinked. “Your _what?_ ”

Suddenly Richie was taking both of Eddie’s hands in his own. His soft, yet calloused pale hands. They were standing awfully close. “The love of my life.”

“Richie, if this is a fucking joke, I swear to God I will never speak to you again-”

Eddie was cut off once again, but this time, by Richie’s lips. 

It was messy to say the least. It was both their first, but Eddie’s lips were soft and Richie’s breath was warm, Eddie having to stand on his tippy toes and cup Richie’s face to make them at equal height.

When they pulled away, they both exhaled loudly, smiles lingering on their faces and late October night cold biting their skin.

Eddie felt weightless. “You taste like burnt popcorn.”

Richie just smiled, refusing to unlink their hands as he lead them both back inside Bill’s house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had so much fun participating! Thank you again to @itfandomprompts on Tumblr for hosting and everyone who was nice enough to leave kudos and comments!

**Author's Note:**

> This wasn’t meant to turn into a Thing but here we are.
> 
> My tumblr is @stall-me !!


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